Pollo en Crema is tender chicken simmered in a rich, creamy chipotle sauce with sautéed mushrooms, onion, and garlic. The sauce is silky, savory, and just a little smoky from the chipotle peppers in adobo.
This Mexican chicken recipe comes together in under 30 minutes, making it an easy choice for a busy weeknight dinner. Serve it with warm flour tortillas, Mexican rice, or your favorite vegetables to soak up every bit of that delicious cream sauce.
If you like creamy Mexican recipes, also try Camarones en Crema.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe ❤️
- Ready in under 30 minutes. This is a comforting homemade dinner without a lot of time in the kitchen.
- The sauce is incredible. Cream, chipotle, garlic, onion, and mushrooms come together to make a rich and savory sauce.
- Just the right amount of smoky heat. Chipotle peppers in adobo add a delicious smoky flavor with a little kick.
- Easy to customize. Use chicken thighs, chicken breasts, or another cut of chicken you have on hand.
- Great for busy weeknights. Everything cooks in one skillet, which means less cleanup, too!
-Maggie
🍗 Ingredients
- Chicken thighs, chicken breasts, or your favorite cut of chicken work well in this recipe.
- Olive Oil or any oil of your preference.
- Butter – You can use all butter and no oil. In that case, you will need half a stick of butter. 2 tablespoon to sear the chicken and 2 tablespoon for the sauce.
- Onion and garlic
- Mushrooms – These are white mushrooms, but you can very well use cremini mushrooms or baby portobello.
- Chipotle in Adobo Sauce – or use red pepper flakes to make it less spicy.
- Mexican Crema, sour cream, or heavy cream are good options here.
- Chicken Bouillon – This is a popular ingredient in Mexican cuisine. Swap out for more salt.
- Salt and pepper
What Is Pollo en Crema?
This dish goes by several names, including Pollo con Crema, Pollo a la Crema, and Pollo Encremado. Here, I’m calling it Pollo en Crema.
And despite the chipotle, this is not an overly spicy dish. Mexican cuisine has plenty of flavorful recipes that aren’t hot or spicy.
👩🏼🍳 Instructions
- Start by adding salt and pepper to the chicken.
- Sear the chicken in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once it is brown on one side, turn the chicken and sear on the other side.
- Give it the time it needs to sear well.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet. It will not be fully cooked yet; it will finish cooking in the sauce.
I prefer chicken thighs because they stay tender and flavorful, but chicken breasts work well, too.
- Remove the chicken from the pan, and adjust to medium-low heat.
- Melt butter and add onion. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
See that golden color? That’s where the flavor is.
It may look dry at first, but the mushrooms will give off liquid, releasing the juices on the bottom of the skillet.
If you love this smoky chipotle flavor, try my Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta.
- Add the cream, chipotle, and chicken bouillon. Mix.
- Then return the chicken pieces to the skillet.
- Stir everything to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked.
If the chicken is not cooked after 5 minutes, add ½ cup of chicken broth. Cover and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes.
🌟 Pro Tips
- For a thicker sauce, use heavy whipping cream or Mexican crema.
- If using milk, add a little cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with water) to help thicken the sauce.
- Don’t skip scraping the skillet. Those browned bits add tons of flavor to the cream sauce.
- Taste before serving. Depending on the chicken bouillon and chipotle, you may need additional salt.
- Want more flavor? Add fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, basil, or tarragon.
🙋🏻♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer bone-in chicken thighs because they stay tender and flavorful, but chicken breasts work well, too. If using boneless chicken, adjust the cooking time as needed and cook until the chicken reaches 165°F.
It has a little heat from the chipotle peppers in adobo, but it is easy to adjust. Use one chipotle pepper for less heat, or substitute red pepper flakes. You can also leave the peppers out for a mild creamy chicken dish.
Yes. Mexican crema, sour cream, and heavy whipping cream can all be used. Sour cream will give the sauce a slightly tangier flavor.
Yes, but the sauce will be thinner. For a thicker sauce, mix a small amount of cornstarch with water and add it to the skillet.
Yes. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and gently reheat them on the stovetop or in the microwave. If the sauce thickens too much, add a splash of milk or chicken broth while reheating.
🍴 Serve with
- Arroz Blanco
- Roasted Mexican Sweet Potatoes
- Frijoles Refritos
- Mexican Mashed Potatoes
- Arroz Mexicano
- Ensalada de Coditos
This Pollo en Crema is the kind of dinner that makes an ordinary weeknight feel a little more special. The chicken is tender, the mushrooms are savory, and that creamy chipotle sauce is perfect with warm tortillas or a side of rice.
If you love easy Mexican chicken recipes with a rich and creamy sauce, this one is definitely worth adding to your dinner rotation. Buen provecho!
Pollo en Crema (Creamy Chicken)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 chicken thighs bone-in
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ¼ onion diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream or crema mexicana
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo finely minced
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat oil.
- Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Sear the chicken on both sides.
- Remove chicken from pan.
- (Note: Chicken will not be fully cooked).
- Melt butter in the skillet and add onion.
- Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the mushrooms.
- Stir to combine.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic clove, chicken bouillon, whipping cream, and chipotle.
- Stir to combine.
- Return the chicken to the skillet.
- Turn the heat to low.
- Cover and cook for 5 minutes more, or until chicken is fully cooked.
- Serve it with warm flour tortillas, Mexican rice, or your favorite vegetables.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If you use milk, try using cornstarch diluted in water to thicken up the sauce.
Yum. This chicken recipe sounds delicious. I’ll have to make it next week after I make a trip to the grocery store.
Yes, please do and let me know what you think.
This dish looks so tasty! I’d love to give it a try when I’ve got family over!
It’s a great dish to entertain because of the sauce. Rich and delicious!
Yummy! I’m always looking for new and exciting things to do with chicken! Thanks for the recipe!
Right! Me too. I need more chicken recipes. Hope you enjoy this one.
Wow! This is a really amazing recipe! I would definitely gonna try this my family would love this for sure!
My family loves it. Hope yours does too!
My husband would enjoy this recipe. I even have chicken in the freezer.
That’s the beauty of this recipe. It uses ingredients you might already have in the fridge.
I am sure my family would enjoy this. It looks like an amazing recipe!
Thank you! It’s a great recipe, if I say so myself. 🙂
That chicken looks delicious! I’ll have to try this recipe!
Yes you do. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
This would be a nice change from the usual way we make chicken. We’ll have to give this a try!
Hope you do. It’s delicious!
This is really good! A new favorite meal for weeknights!
Yes. Perfect for weeknights.
Something I can make on a weeknight with ease. Thanks for the idea.
Yes. This recipe is very easy!